Police shot an Albert Lea man who allegedly charged them with a knife Sunday night, after police say the man stabbed his girlfriend several times in an apartment on Front Street Saturday.

Monday, November 12, 2001

Police shot an Albert Lea man who allegedly charged them with a knife Sunday night, after police say the man stabbed his girlfriend several times in an apartment on Front Street Saturday.

Randal Romero Caron, 31, of 204 Railroad Ave., Albert Lea, fled the scene of the stabbing, at Channel View Apartments, on foot, police said. The stabbing happened around 9:45 p.m. Saturday.

The 33-year-old female victim is a girlfriend of Caron. She was taken to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester and is in critical condition with multiple wounds to the neck and arms, according to the police. Police would not release the name of the victim.

On Sunday night around 7 p.m., Albert Lea and Austin police were dispatched to the area of the shooting after a gas station attendant on South Broadway called the police to report that Caron just visited the store. Using a tracking dog, the police spotted the suspect heading into a wooded area several blocks south of the apartment building.

When two officers tried to apprehend Caron, he ran at them with a knife and officers fired at least two shots, one of which pierced Caron’s chest. The scene was already dark, and both the police and Caron were using lights to spot each other, the police said. The police officers were not wounded.

Caron was taken to Naeve Hospital in Albert Lea and underwent surgery. According to the police Caron is out of critical condition and recovering.

The names of the two police officers involved in the shooting are withheld pending the investigation by the state. They have been placed on administrative leave until the BCA finishes the investigation on the shooting.